Border Patrol confiscates more than 1.5 tons of marijuana

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Border Patrol confiscated more than 1.5
tons of marijuana from would-be smugglers near the U.S.-Mexico line
over the last week and made five arrests, the agency announced
Thursday.

The largest of the half-dozen seizures occurred Sunday, when
agents found 1,290 pounds of cannabis hidden in a truck parked at
Golden Acorn Casino in Campo, according to USBP public affairs
officials.

Two days later, a Border Patrol officer stopped a suspicious
vehicle on Crestwood Road, near Interstate 8 and La Posta Indian
Reservation.

Hidden under a blanket in the automobile was about 750 pounds of
marijuana, according to federal authorities.

Last Thursday, agents following the footprints of suspected
smugglers found some 510 pounds of the drug in an abandoned
truck.

During similar operations near the international boundary, USBP
personnel seized roughly 280 pounds of marijuana on Friday and
nabbed another 245 pounds yesterday, officials said.